GREEN BAY - A 36-year-old Green Bay Correctional Institution employee is accused of smuggling marijuana and having sex with an inmate following an investigation by law enforcement.

On Jan. 7, the Brown County Sheriff's Department began investigating a report that an inmate had been sexually assaulted by a staff member. During the investigation it emerged that the 36-year-old woman and a 33-year-old female co-worker at the prison store were bringing in contraband for inmate employees who also worked in the store. Both women were civilian employees of the prison.

The investigation began when another prison employee overheard a conversation between inmates about an inmate having sex with an employee, Brown County Sheriff Capt. David Poteat said.

Poteat said the 36-year-old admitted to having sex with an inmate when she was confronted.

The 33-year-old is suspected only of smuggling contraband into the prison.

Even though the sexual activity was consensual, the 36-year-old woman's status at the prison makes the contact illegal, Poteat said.

She also is the only person suspected of bringing marijuana into the prison.

The marijuana was sealed in balloons that inmates who worked in the prison store swallowed, Poteat said. After the balloons passed through the inmate's system, the marijuana was distributed within the prison.

“We don’t have any information on harder drugs,” he said.

Other contraband brought into the prison by the suspects included hand sanitizer, food and soft drinks.

Poteat said the contents of a 64-ounce bottle of alcohol-based hand sanitizer was "diverted" to inmates for use as an alcoholic beverage, and the bottle was refilled from smuggled bottles, he said. Hand sanitizer is also flammable and could have been used as a weapon, he said.

Authorities also are concerned the employees may have shared information about prison operations with the inmates and that information could have been shared with other inmates and made its way to other prisons or outside contacts.

“Really the inmates that are involved, they have gang ties, so there is always concern from the institution standpoint,” Poteat said.

Neither woman has been arrested, and their names have not been made public.

The case is being reviewed by the Brown County District Attorney's Office. It could take several weeks before charges are filed, Poteat said.

The sheriff's office is recommending the 36-year-old be charged with sexual abuse of a resident of a penal facility, delivering illegal articles to an inmate, possession of THC and two counts of delivering THC.

The 33-year-old was referred to prosecutors for charges of delivering illegal articles to an inmate.

One of the women resigned and the other was terminated during her probationary employment period, said Molly Vidal, spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections.

“The safety of our employees and the people we serve are our highest priority,” DOC Secretary-designee Kevin A. Carr said in a statement. “Anyone working for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections who is found to have violated our policies, procedures, or the law, must be held accountable.”